Kasrils: Government has lost its way

Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils speaks at an ISS seminar on intelligence in South Africa in Pretoria Picture: Graeme Hosken

Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils speaks at an ISS seminar on intelligence in South Africa in Pretoria Picture: Graeme Hosken

Published Jul 15, 2013

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Johannesburg - Anti-apartheid activist Ronnie Kasrils has lashed out at the government, saying it has “stumbled, faltered and lost its way”, Dispatch Online reported on Monday.

“It is necessary to put the ANC back on course,” Kasrils reportedly said at the Eastern Cape launch of Democracy from Below (DfB) in Mdantsane.

“We must have far more open debate about what is wrong. This is not what we fought for. We fought for accountability and transparency,” he was quoted as saying.

The campaign was meant to put pressure on the government, the Dispatch Online reported.

Also present at the launch was former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.

According to the Dispatch Online, she said the DfB did not want to participate in governance “only every five years”.

“We are all from different organisations. We have a right to demand accountability... democracy is two-legged - voting and participating.

“Freedom is not limited to the ability to vote, it stretches further than that.”

Kasrils reportedly said democracy was not limited to politics and that participation by everyone was vital.

“... It must spread to the economy and the land. We must also not be afraid of nationalisation.”

The Dispatch Online reported that the DfB, which is not a political party, was officially launched in Cape Town last week. - Sapa

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